Boys Hoops Roundup: Gaylord falls against Ogemaw

GAYLORD — The Gaylord boys basketball team continued to work hard Tuesday, but fell to a good Ogemaw Heights team, 68-55 at home.

With the win, the Falcons improved to 9-1 on the season, while Gaylord dropped to 2-8. It wasn’t because of a lack of effort, said Gaylord coach Gary Matelski.

“They are a pretty tough team,” Matelski said. “I thought our kids kept working, but we’re just struggling to find a way to win. The kids played their tails off. I’m happy with their effort.”

Ogemaw led from start-to-finish. The Falcons were up 11-8 after the first quarter, 27-17 at halftime and 47-38 heading into the fourth. A big difference in the game was Ogemaw’s ability to get to the foul line.

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Their leading scorers came through, with Anthony Zettel leading the way with 19 points and Alex Jennings and Justin Wesja scoring 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Dustin Mastej had a good shooting second half and finished with 18 points to lead Gaylord. Kurt Dutcher added 13 points for the Blue Devils, while sophomore Troy Gahm scored seven in his first-ever varsity contest.

“We’re gritty enough to make people earn it every night,” Matelski said. “Nobody is coming into our gym and getting an easy one. I applaud our effort.”

Gaylord returns to action Tuesday when it hosts St. Ignace, who defeated the Blue Devils 79-69 earlier in the season.

Ogemaw Hts. — 11 16 20 21— 68

Gaylord — 8 9 21 17— 55

St. Mary 62,

Central Lake 54

GAYLORD — It took a half for the St. Mary boys basketball team to kick it into gear Wednesday, but when the Snowbirds did, there was no looking back.

Down 13 points at halftime, St. Mary outscored Central Lake 39-20 over the final 16 minutes to seal a 62-54 Ski Valley Conference victory.

“We had to do it the hard way again,” said St. Mary coach Chris McKenzie. “We didn’t play very good defensively in the first half and we didn’t control the tempo. We played much better in the second half.”

The Snowbirds (9-2, 6-2 SVC) did not press in the first half and allowed Central Lake (3-6, 2-6 SVC) to shoot 56 percent through the first two quarters. The Snowbirds returned to thier high-flying pressing ways in the second half and forced 22 turnovers and held the Trojans to 21 percent shooting.

Senior Clay Becker again led St. Mary with 17 points and five steals, while senior Phil Spyhalaksi had a solid game with 13 points ane eight rebounds. Senior Peter Spyhalski added 13 points and six steals, while steady senior Matt Churches had nine points. Junior Adam Palmer chipped in six points for the Snowbirds.

Sophomore Gus Merriweather had 25 points to lead Central Lake.

St. Mary returns to action Wednesday at Johannesburg-Lewiston.

Central Lake — 21 13 10 10— 54

St. Mary — 12 9 21 20— 62

Onaway 79,

J-L 67

ONAWAY — The Johannesburg-Lewiston boys basketball team dropped its seventh-straight game Wednesday in a 79-67 defeat at Onaway.

The win was Onaway’s first in Ski Valley Conference play, as the Cardinals are 2-8 overall. J-L is also 2-8 overall, with a 1-7 Ski Valley record.

“I would say that we had a great team effort and that I see us getting better,” said J-L coach Herb Jenkins. “We played well but struggled in the end.”

J-L had a huge first quarter and quickly took a 22-11 lead. Things went cold in the second quarter, however, and Onaway was ahead 37-35 at halftime. The hosts had a slim 52-51 advantage heading into the final quarter of play.

Joe Iseler, Travis Bandt and Chaz Moore all scored in double figures for the Blue Devils, while Cole Bauman gave a strong lift off the bench.

FRESHMEN

Gaylord 79,

Ogemaw Heights 50

GAYLORD — Every Blue Devil player got plenty of playing time in an easy 79-50 victory Tuesday. Gaylord improved to 8-1 on the season with the win.

Tyler Frisch led a balanced scoring effort with 13 points, while Zach Lundell had 12 points. Cameron Taylor had 11 points for Gaylord, while Bryan Rabine had 10. James Dunn chipped in seven points and Tyler Cherry had six. Rabine and Alex Dodder were the team’s top rebounders.